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A North County lawyer is furious after being trapped and forgotten inside a local jail for hours.
Attorney Erubey Lopez spoke to NBC 7 about the ordeal for the first time Friday.
Lopez said it all began when he was trying to visit a client in jail on Tuesday. He went into a visiting room -- not knowing he would be trapped in there for hours.
Patiently waiting inside a locked visiting room, Lopez said he didn’t think anything unusual until a half hour passed and his client still hadn’t been brought down to him.
“I know it takes a while to get the people, so I’m patient,” said Lopez while recalling the ordeal. “I don’t have my cellphone with me because the policy is you can’t use a cellphone inside the jail.”
At that point, Lopez said he tried to contact the guards through an intercom system inside the visiting room.
“So, I press the intercom button and nothing. I press it again, and it doesn’t work,” he explained.
A half-hour soon turns into an hour.
"At that time, I'm really mad, and I'm thinking, ‘How can they forget about me?’ So, I start hitting the door really loud to get someone to let me out."
Two hours go by. All the while, Lopez is screaming while pounding on the door.
He finally accepts the strong possibility that he'll be sleeping on the cold concrete floor.
"I have a sweater and a jacket, and I take off my sweater and I try to use it as a pillow," he said.
Lopez thinks about Daniel Chong, a UCSD student who was left inside a Kearny Mesa holding cell last April after being forgotten by DEA officers for five days. Chong would eventually file a claim asking for $20 million following the incident, which he called “life-altering.”
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“I can't imagine how you could last that long without going crazy," said Lopez.
Finally, after four long hours, Lopez said a guard heard him and freed him.
Lopez, who’s also a Vista Parks and Rec commissioner, said a sheriff’s official called him and apologized following the incident.
But the attorney is concerned about safety inside San Diego jails, saying a colleague later told him that the intercom he had used inside the visiting room had been broken for eight months.
“[What] if I was unhealthy … had a heart attack? What if I had diabetes and had a sugar issue?” he pondered. “If they hadn’t heard me with the screaming and banging … there was no other way they were going to hear me.”
At this point, Lopez said he’s not sure if he plans to file a lawsuit.
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at least if he sues he wont need a lawyer to take half his cut
ROLFLMAO... Oh... my stomach hurts!
You can bet he will sue and the tax payers will pay for it. Damn guards, play poker off duty and keep the hookers and strippers at home!
Mr Lopez was either too nice or too professional to say this but, knowing Southern Calif, it could well be a racial problem too. There is also the fact that the San Diego Law Enforcement Offices are not overly fond of inmate's lawyers which makes it all them more important that this matter be investigated. If I were Mr Lopez, I would only return to that jail with a partner who remains in another location. If Mr Lopez is not out in a reasonable period of time, the partner calls the MEDIA. I think all other lawyers with Latino or other minority last names need to watch this situation carefully. I would not let San Diego off the hook on this incident or any other like it. My other thought is this: If the prison authorities can lose track of its visitors, God only knows what is going on with the prisoners. Maybe the Gov should show a little interest in his Prison System.
Ah... quite racism being hinted here:
I agree with you SUVAL....to say your racist means nothing. You are right on the mark.
Big deal. If he's anything like most lawyers, he belongs in jail anyway.
The lawyer is going to milk this for every dime he can maneuver. Then keep it in the news for free publicity. Lets see, he was mentally damaged, has seen a mental health professional because he can't sleep at night (counting money he's getting) lost work hours ($500.00/hr), physical health issues from not being able to eat, degraded because he had an accident in his pants not having access to a bathroom, (new suit $1500) and this is just the start. Not all lawyers are scum though. 79% are low life's, 20% are judges.
lets see.. lawyer not sue? No chance, Lawyer truthful when says not sure he will sue. Same odds
caddrafter... boy would I love to hear the other side of the story. Yep, there's always two sides and yours is just a bit biased and convoluted.
Oh, he is a lawyer. He will sue for sure. It is just the matter of the amount of money.
What a wuss. Just looking to get paid, that's all these guys care about anyway. Ridiculous.
This is News, This Warrants Coverage ? The Hack Liberal Press covering the Misfortunate happenings of a Fellow Liberal. Good Job NBC/DNC.
LOL, BtB, right on ! Totally agree.
Somehow, I'm not thinking this guy is going to get much sympathy.
Memo to Lopez: Their is probably a reason that intercom did not work...
another worthless lawsuit about to be filed.....funny story though...couldn't have happened to a nicer person
Carryingconcealed: While the attorney in question was in no immediate personal danger, even he realizes what the impact could be if someone else was put in that room and forgot about. People with know health problems (i.e. diabetes, seizure disorders, heat problems, etc.) could have suffered serious consequences if put in the same situation. And such a person does not even have to be the person in trouble with the law, it could be anybody coming to visit someone (i.e. a lawyer or family member). I remember the case of a young woman who was dragged into a cell in another jail (strait from the hospital that she was seeking assistance from). The cops left her alone in a cell and she died from medical complications. She may have been creating a ruckus at the hospital but apparently for good reason.
I hope that the lawyer does due the jail and related authority, particularly if it can be proven that the intercom button has been broken for several months.
Sounds to me like they know the proper way to treat lawyers, and you might want to check his papers.
Having personally worked in that Jail from the day it was opened to some 15 years later, and having helped set up the Procedures for "Professional Visitors" to the Vista Detention facility, I find it interesting to say the least and I notice a lot of information is missing from the Story so I wonder just what really happened and what was left out of the story, maybe on purpose? Also having had to work with these Attorneys for all those years one finds that truth is often not part of their vocabulary and personally I wouldn't even trust my own Attorney which I didn't and had to place a complaint against her via the County Bar Association to get a situation resolved...Also the Daniel Chong incident happened at the Federal Facility not this one..So you see how he mixed the two stories to appear as if this is a routine event at this Jail. Misleading the public on purpose are we? I could care less about his being angry. I just wonder about his arrogant demeanor and I wonder if that is what caused the problem...8 months, yes I can believe that for many of the facility designs approved by the County Politicaly connected Demoncrat hired Architects were totally inadequate, not thought out well, I could tell you stories from Day 1 about all the glitches within that jail..So basically it is not the Sheriff's fault, it is that County Maintenance is a problem and always has been, their Union...so what do you expect? I'll wait for the Court hearing where the Attorney testifies under oath, then I'll make a decison.
you sure as hell sound smarter than any jailer I ever knew, and I worked in a state prison system as a Psychologist for 5 years. You may be right, but the reason for making him wait, whether or not it was negligence or vengeful behavior...is dead wrong.
Sue their f'ing pants off.
just one example of what actually goes on in jails.
And a fine example of our elite 1%ers in the congress calling for more and more cuts that endanger peoples lives and the welfare of the entire usa population.
Thanks GOP, keep up the good work.
Wow, four hours....
It must have been a life-altering event for him.
I think he should file a lawsuit against the government but also he should file a personal lawsuit against the person who put him in there and then "forgot" him. A personal lawsuit would start to make people think twice about their job performance. Why did they even lock the door, there is no reason for the door to be locked with no prisoner in there? And besides being all kinds of messed up, it was just plain old RUDE. It's a shame that we have to sue or something just to get the respect we all deserve just because we are a fellow human being, but it really looks like that is what has to start happening.
Your bias against the government shows.
Somebody certainly had known whom this young attorney signed in to see; unless anyone can barge in to the prison without checking in.
I am not an a lawyer; however I had the experience to have to see a relative in county jail and the procedure was tight.
I am glad to know that you believe Mr. Lopez seemed to have been quite wronged.
The jails are understaffed. Big woop! The guy has no right to sue. Four hours alone with yourself is not trauma or pain and suffering just in case he thinks he has suffered something.
That's awesome lol. Kudos to the guards who accidentally did this.
Sue 'em, you dummy. At least you won't have to pay a lawyer. Ha,ha,ha!!!!
Caddrafter,
I usually don't read long posts, but I read yours. That is some good advice and unfortunately you had to learn it the hard way; I am really sorry about what happened to you and your family.
To hear how these "crooks" are living well really ticks me off!! What's even worse is that these "crooks" probably stepped over more qualified and ethical people to get where they are. Just think about it! In every position that you have a "crook", someone ethical was beat out of it. As you have seen for yourself, they all watch out for each other!!
Don't give up on life and know that God loves you! You may have saved others from a lot of heartache by your words on this post. It feels good to know that no deed (good or bad) goes unseen and one day their time will come! Everyone reaps what they sow!!
LISHA: I will never know who you are, but from what you have written, I have a great deal of respect for you. Most posters, are no where near your level of comprehension and compassion.
Jailers are among some of the nastiest and dumbest people on earth. Sometimes they make lawyers and Psychologists and Doctors wait on purpose. The longer they work in that environment, the darker their soul gets. I hope he sues them to the rafters, and then sues the rafters. A lot of these people are not much better than the people they have caged. They don't do anything all day but walk around with keys and act better than the prisoners, when in fact, if they had an IQ above 90, they would be doing something else for a living. Sue them!!
The pigs are so bad their lack of concern spills over to affect the community at large as well as the direct victims of their piggishness. Usually it's just some minority trapped in a holding cell or physically abused...this time it's a lawyer. The kind of personality type that seeks employment in law enforcement should be barred from it. Law enforcement in this country is a for-profit, abusive scam. Every day I read about some pigs abusing or neglecting their duty. http ://www. justiceforjordanmiles. com/about-the-campaign/national-police-brutality-statistics/